"Liunian, don't mind her. She just doesn't know how to speak. I apologize on her behalf. Let's chat some more. You haven't told me how much money you've earned yet?"
Seeing Zhang Liunian about to leave, Zhang Xinhua immediately got up and grabbed him. However, his words weren't much better than his wife's earlier.
Zhang Liunian didn't want to stay any longer. He brushed off Zhang Xinhua's hand and said, "Uncle, let me pay my respects to everyone first, and then we can chat if I have time."
His words were quite polite.
But Zhang Xinhua acted as if he hadn't heard them, insisting on holding Zhang Liunian back. "Our village isn't that big. A day is more than enough time for you. It won't interfere with our chat."
"..."
As expected, he was someone who couldn't read the room. Just as Zhang Liunian was about to make a move, Wang Xiao'e stepped forward and, uncharacteristically, spoke up for Zhang Liunian. "Don't keep Liunian. Let him pay his respects first, and you can find him later when he has time."
"But..." Liunian hasn't even said how much he earned this year! Was it a hundred thousand, a million, or several million? This was what Zhang Xinhua most wanted to know.
In fact, Wang Xiao'e also wanted to know. Last night, Wang Xiao'e tossed and turned in bed, constantly muttering about Zhang Liunian earning money. Was it hundreds of thousands, millions, or tens of millions? This piqued Zhang Xinhua's curiosity.
But Zhang Xinhua had finally managed to ask, only to be interrupted by Wang Xiao'e. This made Zhang Xinhua very unhappy, always feeling that women's hearts were as unfathomable as the sea.
"Minghua, take your younger brothers to the next house with your third uncle," Zhang Liunian said, not wanting to say more. He called out to his nephews who were hiding nearby and then led them away.
As soon as Zhang Liunian left, Zhang Xinhua immediately looked at Wang Xiao'e, confused. "Didn't you also want to know how much he earned in the past six months? Why didn't you let me ask?"
"..." Wang Xiao'e blinked, not answering.
How could she not want to know? But she saw that Zhang Liunian clearly had no intention of saying anything. Why make her husband embarrassed?
It wasn't just Wang Xiao'e who saw that Zhang Liunian didn't want to talk; the woman who had advised Zhang Liunian to divorce also saw it.
"Brother-in-law, you're really useless. You can't even tell when someone doesn't want to answer you, and you blame my sister for interrupting. If my sister hadn't stepped in, you wouldn't have been able to get out of there."
This woman was Wang Xiao'e's younger sister. She had come this time to promote her own daughter and to see what a rich person looked like.
The result was very pleasing to her. Zhang Liunian was handsome and capable. The only drawback was that he wasn't flirtatious and still thought about his former wife, with no intention of changing wives.
Then her plan wouldn't work, and she would have to think of a new way.
Hearing his sister-in-law's words, Zhang Xinhua was furious. It was clearly this sister-in-law who couldn't speak properly. On New Year's Day, she told Liunian to divorce. Was that proper? Now that Liunian was offended, it would be impossible for him to pry for information.
"It's not my fault. If you hadn't spoken without thinking, would he have been angered away? If he hadn't left, he would have definitely told me how much he earned. I'm his paternal uncle."
Zhang Xinhua and Zhang Liunian were indeed uncle and nephew. Zhang Xinhua's father and Zhang Liunian's grandfather were brothers. If you counted properly, they were relatives.
However, because they hadn't helped Zhang Liunian in the past and had also quarreled with Zhang Liunian over a five-yuan loan, the relationship between the two families hadn't been good until now.
Originally, he wanted to take advantage of this New Year's visit to mend the relationship with Zhang Liunian. Who knew that a group of backward relatives would come and scare the person away.
"Who wouldn't get a divorce if they had money? Why couldn't he?" The sister-in-law didn't think she had done anything wrong or said anything wrong. She only felt that she had spoken the truth. After all, rich people always abandoned their first wives to marry new lovers.
"Are you still talking?" Zhang Xinhua gritted his teeth, thinking that if he were Zhang Liunian, he wouldn't want to hear such words either.
"..."
Zhang Liunian was unaware of what was happening here. He had already arrived at the next house to pay his respects. However, to his surprise, there were many unfamiliar people at this house as well, including quite a few young girls. When these girls heard him call himself Zhang Liunian, their eyes lit up as if they wanted to devour him.
Seeing this situation, Zhang Liunian naturally didn't stay long and left after saying a few words. But the third house, the fourth house... countless houses, there were still many aunts and relatives appearing before him, looking at him as if he were a national treasure. What was worse was that Zhang Liunian felt like he was that national treasure.
Facing such villagers, how could Zhang Liunian bear it? He could only come and go in a hurry, not daring to linger.
With his swift actions, he finished paying his respects in three hours.
"Why are you back so soon?" Zhang Wenxue was a bit confused seeing his son return so quickly. Logically speaking, when a son paid respects to his uncles and elders, he would be kept for a meal or something, so how could he come back so soon?
"Everyone has guests, so it's not convenient to stay long. Where did Qingqing and the others go?" Zhang Liunian didn't want to mention this matter and instead looked around the house. He didn't see his wife and the others.
"Your mother took Qingqing to your younger sister's house. Your god-uncle took Huabao out. They'll all be back later," Zhang Wenxue replied.
Zhang Liunian suddenly understood and, seeing that no one was around, asked, "Has he left?"
Zhang Wenxue understood who "he" referred to and said hesitantly, "When we came this morning, he was already gone."
He didn't know where his second son would go.
Although Zhang Wenxue was angered by his second son yesterday, he still couldn't help but worry about his safety and future.
Zhang Liunian let out a soft "嗯" upon hearing this and said nothing more.
The father and son fell silent, neither speaking. Just then, Zhang Laoshi and Zhang Hao arrived together to pay their respects, breaking the silence.
"Uncle Wenxue, Liunian, Happy New Year. We've come to pay our respects," Zhang Hao and Zhang Laoshi said in unison.
Seeing them arrive, Zhang Liunian and Zhang Wenxue stood up together to greet them. "Happy New Year."
"Uncle Laoshi, Uncle Hao, please come in and sit. It's warmer inside," Zhang Liunian invited them into the house, offered tea, and brought snacks.
Zhang Laoshi and Zhang Hao were not polite. They accepted the tea, ate, and chatted.
After chatting for about an hour, they returned home for their own meals.
Not long after they left, Zhang Shan rushed over and shouted at Zhang Liunian, "Bad news, boss! Something's happened at the factory."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Liunian stood up abruptly. "What happened to the factory?"
Zhang Shan's expression was flustered. "The doorman just said something happened at the factory. I went to take a look and found a large hole in the back of the factory. All the equipment inside was smashed, and the raw materials were also destroyed. Can you come and see with me!"
These were materials they were about to use. With all of them gone, how much would they lose?
Oh, and that's not the most important thing. The most important thing is that he couldn't bear this responsibility!